The Chicago Cubs are sending their ace to Texas, where he’ll join a Rangers team that enters Monday 1 1/2 games out of the second wild card and three games back of the Oakland A’s in the American League West. The trade, which has been rumored for days but hit a snag that delayed its completion, was first reported by FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal on his Twitter account.

Garza has a 3.17 ERA in 11 starts for the Cubs this season; in 71 innings, he’s allowed 7.7 hits per nine innings and struck out 7.9 batters per nine innings. He was slated to take the mound Monday at Arizona, but was scratched from that start when the Cubs and Rangers reached an agreement.

The Cubs will receive third baseman Mike Olt—who was Texas’ No. 2-ranked prospect in Baseball America’s preseason list but has struggled mightily at Class AAA this year—minor league pitcher C.J. Edwards, starter Justin Grimm and a player to be named. Edwards has been dominant in the Class A South Atlantic League this year, rolling up a 1.83 ERA and 11.8 K/9 in 18 starts. Grimm had an unsightly 6.37 ERA in 17 starts for the Rangers this season.

Rangers starters have a 4.19 ERA this season, which is just ninth in the AL. Yu Darvish (3.02 ERA, 11.8 K/9) and Derek Holland (3.10 ERA, 8.6 K/9) have both been excellent, but the rest of the rotation has been somewhat of a mess. Alexi Ogando has a 2.93 ERA in 10 starts, but he’s missed time with two stints on the disabled list; he’s slated to make his return from shoulder inflammation on Tuesday.

Grimm and Nick Tepesch (4.85 ERA in 16 starts) have been inconsistent. Martin Perez, Josh Lindblom and Ross Wolf have all started at least three games for Texas this year, too.

Garza offers a pretty clear upgrade. Before joining the Cubs, he was a key contributor to the Tampa Bay Rays’ unlikely ascension into the ranks of baseball’s elite. In five career playoff starts for the Rays, Garza has a 3.48 ERA. He lasted at least six innings in all five of those games, and held the opponent to fewer than two runs three times.

That’s just one element that had to be attractive to the Rangers, who have been to the playoffs three years in a row but have yet to win a World Series.

Texas has spent most of the season either in first or second place in the AL West, but a recent skid might have given general manager Jon Daniels an extra sense of urgency. The Rangers have lost seven of their past eight games, including a three-game sweep at home against an Orioles team that currently holds the second wild-card spot.